Brake shoe tool



Aug. 21, 1962 A. P. DENIS BRAKE SHOE TOOL Filed April 6, 1959 INVENTOR ALBERT I? DEN/5 BY 66, m:

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,049,798 BRAKE SHOE TOOL Albert P. Denis, Springfield, Mass; Marguerite D. Sullivan, administratrix of said Albert P. Denis, deceased, assignor of one-fourth to Marguerite D. Sullivan, onefourth to Dorothy D. Coleman, both of Springfield, one-fourth to Mary B. Denis, Holyoke, and one-fourth to Robert B. Denis, Longmeadow, Mass.

Filed Apr. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 804,351 1 Claim. (Cl. 29-227) This invention relates to an improvement in tools for removing the slotted cap and spring which are commonly used to hold the brake shoe to the brake drum of automotive vehicles. In the brake construction to which the tool applies the brake shoe is provided with a small opening through which a T headed stud extends. A coiled spring is telescoped over the stud and a metal cap provided with a slot is pressed over the spring with the slot in the cap in alignment with the cross bar of the T head until the bar of the head has passed through the slot after which the cap is turned to position the slot at an angle to the head, thus locking the cap in place with the spring under compression to yieldingly hold the brake shoe in place.

The removal and replacement of the cap and spring for repair or servicing of the brake assembly is accomplished with some difiiculty and various tools have been proposed to facilitate the work.

In general these tools provide means for engaging the cap for the purpose of compressing the spring and turning the cap to bring the slot in the cap into alignment with the bar of the T headed stud permitting application or removal of the cap and spring.

It is desirable to apply or remove both cap and spring simultaneously and various means have been proposed to this end but with the presently available tools the means provided are either unreliable or interfere with the uniform compression of the spring or both.

It is the principal object of the invention to provide a tool which is free from the objections mentioned and which is easily used by relatively unskilled operators.

Other and further objects residing in the details of the construction are disclosed in the accompanying drawing and the following specification and claim.

In the accompanying drawing:

FIG. 1 is an elevational view partly in section, of a tool embodying the invention, shown as applied to the spring holding cap at the start of a removal operation;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1 but with the spring compressed and the cap and spring ready for removal; and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view substantially on line 33 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1 the tool is shown as comprising two strips of metal generally indicated at 1 which have been shaped to form handle portions 2, substantially flat portions 3 and working end portions generally indicated at 4, the so-shaped strips being pivoted together at their flat portions as at 5 to form a plier type tool.

The working end portions 4 each comprise channel portions 6, the open sides of the channels opposing each other and dimensioned to freely embrace opposite edge portions of the holding cap 7 of the brake shoe connection which is to be released.

3,049,798 Patented Aug. 21, 1962 As shown in the drawing this connection comprises, as previously described, the usual T headed stud 8 supported by the drum shell, not shown, on which the shoe, a portion of which is shown at 9, is mounted, the stud 8 being surrounded by coiled spring 10 and the cap 7 having a slot 11 through Which the cross bar 12 of the stud is passed, the cap 7 being turned to position slot 11 out of alignment with the cross bar 12 thus holding the spring under compression. This is the position of the parts shown in FIG. 1.

In operation, as shown in FIG. 1, the jaws of the tool are closed over the cap 7 to position it in the channels of portion 6. The jaws of the tool are each provided with extensions 13 which, when the cap is embraced in the channel portion 6 extend downwardly along and over the sides of spring 10' but slightly spaced therefrom.

With the cap so held the latter may be rotated to bring the slot 11 into alignment with cross bar 12 and the tool moved downwardly to compress the spring as shown in FIG. 2. As the spring is compressed its diameter increases slightly and the sides of the spring are engaged and held by the extensions 13, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 so that the cap and spring may be removed as a unit, the bar 12 passing freely through the aligned slot 11.

The depth and width of the channels in portion 6 are preferably such that after the cap has been gripped and turned the clamping pressure may, if desired, be slightly released and the downward pressure, as viewed in FIG. 2, to compress the spring exerted by the upper side walls of the channels, thus giving added assurance of free movement of extensions 13 over the sides of the spring and permitting suflicient subsequent closure of the jaws, after the spring has been axially compressed, to apply additional sidewise pressure to further assure clamping control of the compressed spring by the extensions 13.

By the described structure the spring is axially uniformly compressed without interference from the extensions 13. The cap and spring can be removed as a unit and after removal the gradual release of the closing pressure of the pliers will permit controlled release of the uniformly compressed spring.

The tool equally facilitates application of the holding cap and spring, since the spring may be assembled with the cap and compressed against a flat surface, the socompressed spring, being held in assembled relation with the cap by the extensions 13, the assembly may be slipped over the stud 8 and rotated to locking position after which the assembly may be released from the pliers.

During both removal and application of the cap and spring the operator has an unobstructed view of the head of the stud to manipulate the cap from and to locked relation with the head of the stud.

What is claimed is:

A plier type tool for holding, in coaxial assembly, a cylindrical cap and a cylindrical coiled spring of smaller diameter than the cap, for application and removal of the assembly as a unit to and from the stud on which a brake shoe is mounted, the work engaging jaws of said tool comprising opposed members substantially spaced from each other when in work engaging position, the work engaging faces of the jaws being each provided, adjacent the free end portions of the jaw, with channels, in the form of annular segments extending transversely of the jaws, to receive, and make gripping spanner engagement with opposed segmental portions of the cap member of the cap and spring assembly for the application of torque to the cap, the inner side walls of the channels extending en gageably over the top of the cap member and thereby providing means whereby axial pressure may be applied to the cap inwardly of its periphery by manipulation of the tool, both before and after maximum closure of the jaws on said cap member, the free end portions of the jaws being formed with transversely arcuate surfaces positioned to engage and grip the spring member of the assembly to hold the cap and spring in assembled relation against the inner side Walls of the channels When the References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,115,109 Jones ...1 Apr. 26, 1938 2,394,562 Plumley Feb. 12, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS 567,261 France Dec. 4, 1923 

